Graffiti Conversation

What are they? Graffiti conversations are silent conversations that take place on a large display such as a bulletin board, white board, Smartboard, or large piece of paper. How do they work? Students are given a content area prompt, which can be in the form of a picture, quote, question, etc. The students respond individually to the prompt. They can respond in words, pictures, or a combination of the two. As summation of the activity, the teacher can have the students tell the class their thoughts, or groups can read their classmates responses and discuss them.When can I use this strategy? Use this to activate prior knowledge or as a review. Graffiti Conversations can be used to access prior knowledge or to connect students back to an important topic or key idea at the beginning of a lesson; as a strategy to check for understanding of new learning; or as a reflective or connecting piece at the conclusion of a lesson. This strategy serves as an effective formative assessment, providing evidence of student understanding (or lack thereof) and allows students to engage in content dialogue around specified topics and purposes.